Flash Fanfiction - Episode 3 - Creating the Team
by Reign Atkins
Summary: Barry Allen has awoken from his coma to discover that he has super abilities. He joins forces with Astrid, Caitlin and Cisco to learn how to use them, in hopes that doing so will bring him one step closer to discovering his mother's killer. Astrid hopes their team can work together to clear up crime in Central City.
1. Chapter 1

The sun was setting as the Queen Industries private chopper landed on the rooftop of Sutherland Labs in Central City. Astrid climbed out, and ran towards the rooftop entrance. She took the elevator down to the 97th floor where her friends were trying desperately to calm a very confused Barry Allen, who was in hysterics.

"Barry. Do you remember me? It's Astrid." She told him softly.  
"I don't know what is going on here, Astrid. These guys have kidnapped me! Are you in on it? Why am I here? The last I knew I was… No, we were in that elevator! You kidnapped me! Why would you do this? I thought we were friends!" he demanded an answer.

"Caitlin, call Joe." Astrid said and she took a small step towards him. "Barry, why would I kidnap you? You're my friend. You have been in a coma. That bang was a meteor shower. You and I were both injured in the meteor shower as were millions of other people."

Barry eased a little. But he was still confused. "You don't understand, Astrid. I have some sort of power." He told her. Astrid was reminded of Caitlin's phone call. That Barry would be able to run faster than any man dreamed possible and that his cells regenerated very rapidly.

"I know, Barry. But you are not alone, and we… I mean my friends and I, are here to help you. You can trust us." Astrid spoke softly, not inching closer nor further away.

"I trust you, Astrid." Barry said finally, "but how do I know that this was caused by the meteor and not your scientist friends here? You know what I saw when my mother died and there was no meteor before that. How do I know that…"

Astrid felt a pang of anger rush through her, he was trying to blame his mother's death on Sutherland Labs. She pushed her emotion aside and spoke calmly, "because the meteor affected multiple people. I can prove it to you. But you need to trust me. Sutherland Labs is not responsible. I want you to come with me for a minute." She began walking to her office.

"Astrid? Please… can we go somewhere else?" Barry asked her. He didn't want to be here. He didn't trust this place at all.  
Astrid realized that he was dressed in a patient gown. "We can go anywhere you want to go, Barry. But I need you to do something for me, first."  
"What do you want me to do?" Barry asked, puzzled.  
"I need you to put your clothes on." Cisco was holding a pile of clothes that detective Joe West had brought over earlier. Barry nodded and took them from him, though eyeing him with suspicion.

Caitlin pulled a curtain across the patient bay, giving Barry some privacy. Barry stepped behind it and before they could turn to leave had reappeared, completely dressed, from head to toe.

"That was quick." Astrid told him.  
"That's my superpower." He told her. "Where do you want to go?" she asked him.  
Barry grabbed Astrid's arm and at the blink of an eye, he had taken her to CCPD. They were in her office at the police station.

Astrid felt dizzy. She sat down at her desk. "Barry… what? … wow! I feel dizzy." She stammered. She sat down in her chair at the desk.  
He wasn't even panting. "What the H-E - double hockey sticks is going on? And why can I do that?" he blurted out, trying to make sense of everything.  
"Ok, let me start from the beginning." Astrid said softly, "You said that you remember us being in the elevator? That bang, like I said… was a meteor shower. There was some sort of chemical in the meteor that let off some type of radiation. That radiation affected some people, giving them powers, but unfortunately… it killed others. Sutherland Labs wants to study it as much as possible. When I awoke up from my coma, I found out that you were in the hospital. This happened about a week ago. I guess I wanted you to be in safe hands. The hands of people that I trust. Barry, you can trust them too."

Barry sat down opposite her and placed his head in his hands. He had been here multiple times when he was feeling down and needed to talk. This place was so comfortable to him.  
"Ok, I am going to trust that you know what you're doing." He said, finally, "That girl said that I have been in a coma for four months. Is that true?" Astrid nodded, "yes, it is true. A lot has changed."

"Like what?" Barry asked.  
Astrid was going to continue, though someone pushed the door open. "I'm sorry to intrude, Astrid but I just got off the phone to Caitlin. She said that you needed to see me and then I saw you in here on my way out. Are you …" he stopped mid-sentence at the sight of Barry. Tears welled up in his eyes. Barry got to his feet immediately and hugged his foster father.

"I will give you two some space," Astrid said as she got to her feet and left the room, closing the door behind her.  
"Oh! Astrid. It's good to see you back at work." Captain Singh's voice broke in, "are you ready to get back to work? Your stand in has gone home for the day. We really miss you here at CCPD."

"No, captain. I just came to chat to someone. That's all. But I promise you, that I will be back at work soon. When things settle down a bit." She told him.  
"Ok, miss Sutherland, take all the time you need." He told her, she knew that he didn't mean it. She knew that he wanted her to just be back at work doing her job, but instead of persisting, he left her in peace.

She still felt dizzy from being transported from Sutherland Labs to CCPD in the blink of an eye. She glanced around her. It had only been a few days ago that she had done her press conference. They were still repairing some of the damages from that evening. Some of the windows were still shattered.

She looked up at the bulletin board and realized just how high the crime rate had risen since the meteor shower. She thought of Oliver. He was The Arrow and he was cleaning up crime in Sterling City. Just being there made Astrid feel like she was doing something important. She wanted to do something about the crime rate here in Central City.

She saw Eddie at his desk on the phone. She remembered the car bursting into flames and his fellow officer being killed in action. The meteor shower had created super beings. She should know for both she and Barry were among them affected.

Central City police were no match for the new type of criminals out there, but maybe she and her friends were. But Astrid didn't want to be the hero, she hated the limelight. So who would be?

Suddenly, Barry walked out of her office, followed by Joe. "I will see you at home, son." Joe told him. He waved to Astrid and left.

"Did you tell him about your new…" Astrid began.  
"My new ability of super speed?" Barry finished her sentence, in a whisper, so no one would hear. "Of course not. What would I tell him? 'Joe, yes I've woken from my coma and just so you know I can run faster than a speeding bullet?' I don't think so Astrid. He would think I have gone crazy."

"Good point." Astrid agreed.  
"I am going to trust your friends," Barry went on, "I am going to have to, if I am to work out what else I am capable of. Besides… The thing I saw that killed my mother had similar abilities… maybe this will help me discover what really happened that night."


	2. Earth 27 - Episode 3 - Chapter 2

The next day, Astrid sat in her office on Sutherland Labs, away from her friends who were doing their best trying to explain to Barry just what he was capable of. He was still trying to come to terms with it all.

She thought back to the headquarters on Verdant and how it had its own training grounds. That was what they needed. Astrid glanced over at the sheet of in-house phone numbers. It included every floor in Sutherland Labs including a title of each department on each floor.

But there was one floor unaccounted for. Astrid pressed the speaker button on her phone for their floor. She knew who to ask. "Cisco, can you please come to my office for a minute?"

He hadn't spoken a word to her since she had returned from Sterling City, but this was not a personal matter. Cisco appeared in her doorway and placed both his hands in his pockets. Annoyance was written all over his face.

"I know that right now, you and I aren't seeing eye to eye," Astrid began, "but I need to know something. You were like a protégé to my father, so much so, that you know everything about Sutherland Labs. So I need to know. What is on level 25?"

At this point even Cisco looked stumped. Astrid pointed to the chart and so Cisco stood behind her to take a look. There was no level 25 whatsoever. "I never thought to ask. Maybe its abandoned?" he suggested.

Astrid opened the draw to her desk, "Well there is only one way to find out." She said pulling out a set of keys, including the master key. She stood up and left her office, heading for the elevator doors. "Guys, come with me!" she called out. This involved them too.

Once they were in the elevator, Astrid ran her finger over the buttons to the floors. Though once again level 25 was unaccounted for. "100 floors and they forgot that one?" Cisco suggested.  
"That's ok. We go to the one above it and take the stairs down. This is a billion-dollar corporation. The floor cannot just be 'forgotten'. It just doesn't make sense." She told him.

When they finally made their way to the stairwell, Caitlin made her hesitation in taking the stairs known.  
"I could always just take us all there. Just say the word." Barry announced.  
Astrid was determined to help Barry to figure out how to use his powers, even if it made her feel a little dizzy. "Ok, Barry. Do it!" In a blink of an eye she was standing in front of the door to the 25th floor. Another blink, Cisco had joined her, and then Caitlin and Barry too.

Astrid rattled the door. It was locked. She used the master key to open it and click… it opened without hesitation. Inside was an entire floor… dedicated to absolutely nothing at all.

The four of them stepped inside, there were multiple rooms. All of them were empty. A smile formed on Astrid's face. "This is it!"  
"This is what exactly?" Barry asked.  
"This is our training grounds!" Astrid said with excitement in her tone.  
"Yeah, I see it!" Cisco said nodding his head with a large smile on his face. "We can set cameras up there and there… This wide space here, we can use for Barry to test out his speed…"

"We can put a medical bay here." Caitlin chimed in pointing to a small corner, "chances are we are going to need one."  
"That room over there can be a combat training room," Astrid pointed to the second biggest room of the floor.

"What would we need a combat training room for?" Barry asked, puzzled.  
"I've been doing some thinking. With your powers, Barry. We can help Central City. There were so many people that were affected by the meteor shower. They were also given powers. But they are using it to bad things. CCPD is no match for them! We can help CCPD. Just like the Arrow does." Astrid had hoped she was inspiring her friends as much as she had become inspired.

She had clearly inspired Cisco, "Yes! We should totally do that! We can do that, right? I'm in!" Caitlin nodded, "so much has gone wrong since the meteor shower. We have lost so many good people and if we don't help, we are sure to lose so many more. Count me in."

The three of them looked at Barry. "No! we can't. We're just… I can't do it, Astrid. I know you guys need me to say yes. But I just don't think I can."

"Barry, you told me yourself that this could be the start to discovering what happened to your mother. We need to start somewhere. Please." Astrid knew that she could not force him to do so, she also knew that deep down, Barry knew that it was the right thing to do.

"Astrid, I can't do it. I just can't." Barry backed away slowly and before they knew it, he had disappeared, leaving nothing more than a quick breeze behind.

"I'll talk to him." Astrid told her friends. "He is just dealing in his own way. But he will come around."

"I hope so, because with his abilities… and no way to control them, he is just going to be a danger to everybody." Caitlin said. They all knew that she was right.

Barry made his way into the café 'Jitters' where Iris West was working. She had not yet been told that Barry was indeed awake from his coma. "Oh my god! Barry!" she ran to him and embraced him. He hugged her back. "Are you free to go for a walk?" he asked her.  
"You just woke up from a four-month coma. I think it should be fine. Wait, shouldn't you be having tests done or something?"  
"No, I'm absolutely fine." He told her. Iris ran to let her manager know that she was heading out, leaving Barry in the busy café to wait for her. He looked around him. For a moment it seemed that everything had gone into slow motion. A waitress stumbled. She fell so slowly, Barry felt the temptation to help her with the cups before they fell off the tray.

He resisted the temptation, as time seemed to speed up again. He watched as the coffees fell to the floor making a large mess. The waitress was frantic, Barry offered to help her clean the mess. He felt bad that he didn't help her in the first place. Once Iris finally returned, she and Barry made their way out of the café for their walk.

As they walked along the main street, Iris filled Barry in with everything that had occurred over the past few months, including the incident at CCPD that had followed Astrid's press conference.

Suddenly a car came hurtling down the street, almost hitting a group of pedestrians and some other cars on the way. The group of pedestrians ran into Iris and Barry, as they tried to get out of the way of the car.

Once again, Barry saw the whole incident in slow motion. But this time, he was going to try and do something to help. He ran as fast as he could, reaching the car in time. The car, although it was still moving, felt to Barry, like it had just stopped. Barry opened the door and climbed into the front passenger side. He put the seatbelt on quickly.

The time around him sped up again. The driver glanced at Barry, clearly surprised to see him there. Surprised, but not in shock. Barry remembered the man. He had been involved in a case that Barry had assisted Joe with a few months back. Clyde Mardon. "Er…hi?" Barry said, still surprised at what he had just accomplished.

Clyde turned the steering wheel violently, opened his car door and jumped out of his side all in one moment. The car ran into a petrol station, bursting into flames and exploding immediately. Though not before Barry could make his quick getaway.

"Clyde!" Barry called out as he stood right behind the man. "We have you."  
Clyde turned around and stared intently at Barry, though he didn't say a word. From out of nowhere a foggy cloud appeared around them. The force of which got faster and faster. Then a cyclone formed around Clyde, making him disappear before Barry's very eyes.

Barry heard sirens approaching, he waited for the officers to arrive on the scene. Fortunately, Joe was one of the officers. "Barry, are you ok?"  
"Joe, you're not going to believe this! It was Clyde Martin." Barry told him.  
"That's impossible, Bar… Clyde is dead, he was one of the victims in the meteor shower. He and his brother both were."  
"No, that's not true, Joe. It was him, I saw him." Barry was confused.  
"Barry, I think you and I need to have a chat. But now is not the time." Joe said sternly.  
Barry stepped backwards, slowly "Joe, I need to go. I'll see you back at home."  
When he was sure that he was no longer in sight, Barry ran as fast as he could back to Sutherland Labs.


	3. Earth 27 - Episode 3 - Chapter 3

Astrid sat on top of the computer desk, speaking with Caitlin about Barry's condition. Next to her, Cisco sat on his chair at the computer. He was focusing on something with intent and had gone back to not speaking to Astrid.

"I want to help you protect Central City." Barry's voice made all three of them jump.  
"Dude! Don't sneak up on people like that!" Cisco gasped, as he stood up to greet Barry.  
"I apologize, but I mean it. I want to help. Just tell me what you need me to do." Barry looked over at Astrid who had gotten to her feet.

The group set up a selection of gear on level 25, including a makeshift suit for Barry to wear.  
"Remind me again what all these wires do?" Barry asked Cisco who was linking the wires to Barry clothes.  
"These wires will monitor your speed. They will then transmit the readings to this baby here." He held up an IPad that he had personally upgraded for this exact reason.  
"We need you to just run until you get tired, Bar." Astrid told him, "I have a stop watch right here. We need to establish what your limitations are. How's the suit going, Cisco?"

Cisco double checked all the connections to make sure they were all in place and then ensured that the IPad was working properly. "Ok, Barry. You're ready to go." Barry took a breath and then began running, leaving nothing more than a mere blur streaking past them continuously, creating a warm energy. Caitlin had brought up a crate of water bottles to quench Barry's thirst for after the experiment and was preparing the first aid kit.

Astrid's phone rang from in her pocket, so she pulled it out. The caller was Oliver, so she stepped away to answer it. "Oliver, Hi. Is everything okay?"  
"Hi, Astrid, I figured I would check in to see how Barry was doing. Felicity asked that I call… in fact she told me to call." Astrid smiled at the thought of Felicity making demands of Oliver.  
"That Felicity, huh?" she joked, "Well Barry is actually more than fine. He is currently running laps as we speak."

"Laps? Barry didn't strike me as much of a capable runner?"  
"You would be surprised, Ollie. But let's be honest. I know you, you're calling for another reason. What's up?"  
"Do you remember that photograph of your father that you left here?"  
Astrid knew the one that he was referring to. She had thrown it into the waste paper bin at team Arrow's headquarters. "Oliver, I threw it out. Nonetheless, why would that be of any concern to you?" she asked him.  
"Well, I had Felicity analyze the time stamp. So it turns out, the time stamp was in fact, accurate."  
Astrid froze, "Oliver. What are you saying?"  
"I am saying that your father was alive a month after the meteor shower. I can't confirm if he is still alive now. But I just thought you should know."

Astrid didn't know how to respond to this news. In her mind she had considered her father dead, but the thought that he could actually be alive and hadn't visited her made her feel more hurt than ever before.

"Astrid, are you still there? Are you ok?" Oliver's voice was still in her ear. A tear ran down her face but she wiped it away quickly. "I'm still here Oliver. I'm fine."  
"Good, I also want you to know that I settled things with the media. I told them that we're not a couple. Just two friends, comforting each other after the death of your father." Oliver told her.  
"Thank you Oliver. I appreciate it. But I really need to go, I will talk to you soon. Ok?"  
They said their goodbyes and Astrid turned to see Cisco staring at her. He looked away in frustration.  
"What is your problem, Cisco? Just tell me!" she told him sternly.  
"My problem is that you won't even admit that you are seeing Oliver again." He replied, trying to remain casual. Caitlin was watching them both and Barry was still running.

"For starters, Cisco. It's none of your business who I see. Second, if I were seeing him, you would know as I would actually tell you, and thirdly… Oliver called me to say that he found proof that my father was alive a month after the meteor shower. So right now, your attitude is the last thing that I want to deal with! So drop it!" Astrid spoke in an angry whisper, leaving Cisco speechless by her words. He hadn't expected any of that.

"Your father can't be alive, Astrid!" Caitlin interrupted their conversation, "Your father loved you, if he were alive, he would have come to see you when you were in your coma."

"They were my thoughts exactly, Caitlin." Astrid told her, changing her tone. "But I was given a picture, back in Sterling City. The time stamp was exactly a month after the time that he should have died. I just received the call that it was, in no way, forged."

"Well, we need to find him, Astrid." Cisco chimed in.  
Astrid took the IPad from Cisco and changed the subject. "Has Barry really done 500,000 laps in this amount of time? That's… That's impossible!"  
"Astrid, your deflecting the subject." Caitlin told her.  
"Yes I am, and I want the two of you to take the hint. I saw the photo. My father was not being detained in any way. He was dressed in a suit and he was on the phone. He should have at least called to see how I was. But he didn't. So for the last time, drop it!" she told them.

"You can't possibly be…" Cisco began.  
"If you're not going to do it because I asked… you will do it to keep your jobs. Just listen to me, ok?" Astrid didn't mean to pull the 'boss card' and she regretted it the moment that she said it, but in Astrid's mind her father was dead. She had to accepted it, and they needed to as well.  
Caitlin nodded and went back to her post. Cisco took the IPad out of Astrid's hands and said nothing.  
"Ok, Barry. I think that's enough for now!" Astrid called out. He instantly appeared in front of her.  
"How many laps did I do?"  
"The fastest Olympic runners in the world, would be put to shame." Cisco told him, "You just ran 520,006 laps in seven minutes and twenty-two seconds."  
"Wow Barry, your suit is actually smoking." Astrid said patting Barry's arms. "Next time we are going to need something that is heat proof."  
"Drink some water, Barry." Caitlin said, handing him a bottle of water. He thanked her and sipped it.

"I should probably go home." Barry told them. "Joe will get concerned if I'm late."  
"I'm going to head home too, so I'll walk you out, Barry." Astrid told him.  
As they made their way towards the underground carpark, Barry broke the silence.  
"You know, I may not be an expert when it comes to people, but I sense that things are not going well with you and your friends, you have also always been there for me, so I want you to know that I'm here if you need to talk."

Astrid wanted to keep her mouth shut, but because her two best friends were not speaking to her and her current mission was to encourage Barry to trust them, she had to open up. She read his mind and found that he had no hidden agenda.

"Ok." She started, "As far as anyone knows, my father died in the meteor shower. But just recently I caught up with some friends of mine in Sterling City. We came across a photograph of my father that was dated about a month after the meteor shower happened. Ollie just rang me and confirmed that the time stamp was not a forgery. Which means that my father is supposedly alive. But in my mind he is dead. I feel it. If he were alive he would have come the moment he found out that I was in a coma. No one believes me and most of all, my friends, they are not willing to accept it."

"I know what it's like to have no one believe you. You believed me when no one else did when it came to my parents. So for what it's worth, I believe you. But why would someone go through the trouble to put you through this?" Barry asked her.  
"I don't know? To bring Sutherland Labs down? To bring down Luthor corp?" Astrid was not entirely sure.

"Or to make you investigate Luthor corp. Everyone knows that they are hiding some big secrets there and you have the power to find out. I was always a big fan of your father, I read every book that he ever wrote. Something tells me he would want you to uncover the truth. Maybe we should see it as a sign to investigate Luthor Corp."

Astrid laughed. "You know that might be the smartest thing I've heard all day, Barry."

"I know. It was bound to happen sooner or later." He joked.

"Ok, Barry, this is my car. Did you want me to give you a ride home?"  
"No thank you. I can walk… better yet I can run."  
"Sure, I'll see you tomorrow then. Oh, by the way, Barry, You and I have a few mutual friends in Sterling City. One of them... A lovely Felicity Smoak, says 'hi', by the way."

Barry blushed and then, in a mere breath, he was gone.


	4. Earth 27 - Episode 3 - Chapter 4

The next morning, the sun shone brightly over Central City. Astrid had felt bad for the way that she had treated her friends the day before, so she brought them coffees from Jitters and bagels to make up for it. She had also spent the night suffering from nightmares in relation to the Luthor Corp runaways that she had met in Sterling City. Over and over she saw their deaths. Luthor corp was responsible, just as he was responsible for whatever had happened to her father.

Astrid reached level 97 of Sutherlands Labs with her metaphorical olive branches in hand, to find Cisco and Caitlin preoccupied with their work. "I come in peace, with breakfast and apologies." She told them.

"Apology accepted, provided it's a double shot." Caitlin said, "I've been up all night suffering from nightmares about… just somebody." She took her coffee and bagel and went back to work.  
Astrid watched as Caitlin busied herself. She was displaying all the signs of someone trying to deal with grief. "Caitlin, is everything ok?"  
"Sure, everything is fine." Caitlin told her, her expression unwavering. Astrid's temptation to read her friend's mind was so high at this point. But she had learnt her lesson the last time that she had done so. She hoped her friend would confide in her when she was ready.

"Cisco?" Astrid called sweetly, as she placed his coffee and bagel on the desk beside him, as he stared intently at his computer screen. "You can't be mad at me forever." Cisco took his coffee without turning to look at her.  
Astrid sighed in frustration and went to head over to her office. "Fine," Cisco blurted out, "I'm not mad anymore. Besides, you are quite possibly about to be mad at me, anyway."  
Astrid turned back on her heels. "What did you do now?"  
"I might have done a little digging in to Luthor Corp's top secret database and found a few reports on some illegal projects that they were working on. You see they have been testing on, not animals… but people! They have been trying to create super beings… and along with the kryptonite rocks that they have a lot of… They have the means to make a lot of super beings."

Astrid thought back to the group of runaways. She needed to tell them. "You guys. I kind of already knew about the super humans that they were building."

"How?" Both Caitlin and Cisco asked at the same time.  
At that point Barry walked in, he was just in time. "Look you guys," Astrid began, "when I was in Sterling City, I met a group of runaways. They asked me to help them rescue their friends from Luthor Corp. These people were experimented on by the scientists. They told me that my father was responsible for saving them, they just never got the chance to tell me how. I think we should look at investigating Luthor Corp. But it cannot leave this room. If anyone finds out that we are conducting this investigation, we could get into a lot of trouble. I need to know if you guys are with me on this."

"With you to the end, Astrid." Cisco said, "and it's about time, I'll say!"  
Astrid looked over at Caitlin who had an intense look on her face.  
"Astrid, I don't know if you remember, but I was engaged to a guy named Ronnie. He travelled to Smallville before the meteor shower, but after a few weeks he was considered missing. They never found him. Do you think it is possible that he could have been… one of those… well do you think it's possible?"  
"I think it is definitely worth finding out, Caitlin."  
"I'm with you on this. But as much as I want to go there now, I don't think going to Luthor Corp, unprepared would be a very safe option."

"I agree, that's why we need to arm ourselves. We work on improving Barry's skills." Astrid looked over at Barry, who nodded, "I also want to solidify my rapport with Lionel Luthor. Ergh! Just saying that makes me feel horrible. But I need him to trust me, this won't be easy. Barry, until then we help you master your power. Something tells me we are going to need it. But we need to be careful, we still don't understand just what it is you are capable of."

Cisco jumped to his feet, "I have something for you, Barry. Follow me." The group followed him to a glass cupboard. Inside was a red suit, complete with a mask and boots and a lightning emblem fixed to the chest.

"Why a lightning bolt?" Astrid asked puzzled.  
"it just seemed fitting," Cisco replied, "Hurry up and try it on."  
In a split second, Barry had changed from his preppy clothes, which had fallen to the floor, to the bright red suit. Cisco marveled at his handy work.  
"It looks good." Caitlin said.  
"It looks better than good." Cisco told them.  
Astrid checked her phone for the time. "I would love to stay here, but this morning I told Singh that I would go back into work. I will see you guys later."  
"I really don't understand why you still want to work at CCPD when you really don't need to." Cisco told her.  
"Because, personally it is exciting getting into the minds of criminals and finding out what makes them tick and frankly, I love my job."  
"I can take you if you like, Astrid." Barry chimed in.  
"You only just woke up from your coma, Barry? Why would you want to go back to work?" Astrid asked him, as she picked up her purse.  
"The same reason I want to help you guys. I can't stand by and do nothing." Barry replied.  
"Well, we can't risk them seeing you use your speed, I will drive the both of us, just get changed first, and then we'll go." She told him.

As Astrid drove the two of them down the main street, she asked Barry, "So how are things going with Iris? Have you guys spoken since you woke up?"  
"Actually we have. Did you know she has been seeing detective Eddie Thawn?" Barry asked.  
Astrid was reminded of the time that she had come and seen Barry while he was at the hospital. Iris had told her that she was seeing Eddie.  
"Yes Barry. I knew. How are you…"  
All of a sudden she couldn't see out of the car windows. "What's going on?" she asked. The car felt like it was being lifted. Then all of a sudden, they could see out of the windows again as the car was hurtling towards a building. Astrid screamed.  
Before the car could make an impact, Barry unfastened his seatbelt and then hers and pulled her out of the car to safety.  
Once Astrid had come to her senses, she opened up the mind channel to the people in the near vicinity. "Barry! Clyde is around. I can hear him!" she told her friend.

Barry wasn't sure what she was talking about. Astrid tried to pull out an image from Clyde's mind. "He is in between a black and a red car, on… umm… next to a parking sign. I can't see a street name!" Barry tried to make sense of what she was doing.  
"Barry, don't just stand there. There is a group of people that are about to get hurt! Go!"  
Barry ran and looked until he found the cars and the parking sign. Just as Astrid had said, he found Clyde. Before Clyde could make a move, Barry restrained him.  
Astrid got to her feet. Her mind was set on Clyde's thoughts. She ran as fast as she could, looking for Barry and Clyde. She saw storm clouds gathering to a specific spot near a red car and on the opposite side was a black car, just as she had seen in her mind. She ran towards the two men, stopping five meters, in front of them.

"Barry! You need to do something fast, He is about to start a tornado!" she yelled out.  
Clyde was shocked, how did he know what she was thinking? He started it nonetheless. There was a crowd of people gathering around. Astrid yelled for them to run with her to safety.  
Barry threw Clyde to the floor and began running circles around him, counteracting the tornado. Sirens got louder as a police car arrived on to the scene. When Barry felt that Clyde had had enough he stopped running and held his arm out, knocking Clyde to the ground.

"Barry!" A voice broke over the commotion. It was Joe's voice, making him turn around and face the first detective that had arrived on the scene and seen the whole thing. Joe had the look of shock as well as amazement on his face.  
Barry stared at Joe, who took out his gun and shot a bullet, which bypassed Barry and shot Clyde, who had sat up and had a gun aimed at Barry. Clyde was dead.

Barry's eyes gaped in shock. "Get out of here, Barry. Before someone sees you." Joe told him.  
Barry listened and ran.


	5. Earth 27 - Episode 3 - Chapter 5

Astrid walked slowly from behind the parked car from where she had remained hidden, after getting the crowd of people to safety. She had seen the whole thing. She said Joe's name, as she approached him. He was in a state of shock as other officers arrived at the scene.

He broke out of his trance as Astrid stood next to him. He had no words to say. But he had not seen Astrid's part in it. "B-Barry…" Joe stammered.  
"Barry is ok." Astrid told him, comfortingly.  
"Barry is not ok. Did you just see what he did?" Joe asked her.  
"Barry was affected by the meteor shower, Joe. But right now he needs our support."  
"Joe, the two of you see what happened here?" Singh had approached them.  
Astrid answered first, "There was some sort of crazy storm. My car it was smashed. Clyde pulled out his gun on Joe and Joe shot him in self-defense."  
Joe looked at Astrid, and then added, "that's exactly what happened."  
Eddie Thawne, who had arrived in time to hear Astrid's statement, walked towards Clyde's lifeless body and saw the weapon lying on the floor. "the story checks out, but we might need a DNA sample from that weapon, just to be sure."  
Barry suddenly appeared back on to the crime scene with a forensic kit. Astrid silently hoped that there had been no bystanders left on the scene who could recognize his face. She mentally surveyed the area and to her relief, came up with nothing.

"You're late again, Barry! But it is your first day back, so I will let it slide." Captain Singh told him.  
Within minutes he had gathered and compared fingerprints to Clyde's body and the weapon that lay on the floor bedside him. "It's a match. Astrid's story checks out." He said, clearing his throat.  
"Barry, Astrid, do the two of you need a ride over to the station?" Joe asked them.  
"That would be great, Joe. Thank you." Astrid replied.  
"If you don't mind, Joe. I need to take some time for myself." Barry replied.  
Astrid felt bad for her friend. She put her hand on his shoulder, "If you need to talk, Barry. You know where to find me." Barry shook her hand from his arm and walked away, leaving her unsure as to why.  
 **  
**Once Astrid had reached her office in CCPD, she got to work going through the files that Singh had left on her desk. She would need to go out to Iron Heights by the end of the day to chat with some of the prisoners. She made a phone call to Sutherland Labs, looking for Barry. They hadn't seen him.  
Barry was also ignoring his phone. When she was almost ready to give up, she caught a glimpse of something flashing past outside her office.

She stood up and headed towards Barry's office, finding him there. "Barry, I have been worried about you. Is everything ok?" she asked him.  
"You should have told me, Astrid." He told her in a whisper.  
"Told you what?" She asked.  
"That you were affected by the meteor too."  
she was going to deny it, but she knew that it wasn't worth it. She had used her powers today in front of him. "Barry… what you saw today… I really shouldn't have…"  
"You read Clyde's mind today. Which means you must be able to read other people's minds too.  
"Yes, Barry. I can. But when it comes to my friends, I won't invade their privacy. As much as I may be tempted to, at times."  
"I take it that Caitlin and Cisco don't know." Barry's tone had calmed down now.  
"No, and I would ask that you don't tell them either. I will tell them when I feel that time is right. We just have a lot going on right now. Like helping you."

"No, I think there is more to it than that." Barry argued, "I think you're afraid of telling them. It was you that wanted me to trust them, but why aren't you?" Barry looked down at his hand, it seemed to be shaking so fast that it had become a blur. "Astrid, what is going on with my hand?" he was concerned.

"This is why we are focusing on you, and not me, right now." She argued, standing back up and walking towards the door, "we need to get you back to Sutherland Labs as soon as possible."  
Barry's hand stopped shaking. "It's ok. It's stopped!" Barry told her.  
Astrid continued, "I'll go to my office and call Cisco and Caitlin, they should have some idea. Otherwise, they're smart enough to figure it out." As she turned to leave she came face to face with Iris, who was standing at Barry's door.

"Oh, Iris. I was just leaving." Astrid told her.  
"Oh, actually, Astrid. Can you stay here for a moment? I need to talk to you both." Iris asked.  
Astrid looked over at Barry and walked towards him.  
Iris had a pen and a notebook in her hands. "What do you need from us, Iris?" Barry asked her.  
"Ok, so I have been writing a blog and I heard that you were at the incident with that Marden guy today and I wanted to get your take on it." Iris began.  
"…er, Iris… What did you hear exactly?" Astrid, probing into Iris's mind. She needed to know if somebody out there knew Barry's secret.

"There was a rumor that Clyde tried to start some sort of tornado but someone countered his attempt. People are calling him The Streak. People are also saying that Astrid was recognized at the scene trying to get people to safety." Astrid knew by her thoughts that Iris had no idea who 'The streak' actually was, she was relieved.

Before Barry could say anything, Astrid took the focus and said. "I was there. I didn't see anyone else, except your father and Clyde. What I also saw was Clyde doing something scary and I had to help those people. I would appreciate if you would leave me out of this blog. I prefer to stay out of the limelight." Astrid gave Barry a brief smile to say "your welcome" and left the office, leaving Iris and Barry alone.

As Astrid went through her paperwork in her office, she was startled by a knock on her door.  
"Joe, is everything Ok?" she asked, the detective who was standing at the doorway.  
"Astrid, I understand that you are heading up to Iron Heights later. You wouldn't happen to have a certain file in your hands, would you?"  
"Which file would you be referring to?"  
"Henry Allen." Joe said, speaking quietly.  
"Henry Allen… as in Barry's father. I do, why?" she asked.  
"If you keep this quiet from Barry. I might ask for your help."  
"Barry's my friend. It depends on what you're about to ask."  
"I want to reopen the case. Did Barry ever tell you what happened that night?"  
Astrid flicked through the files on her desk and pulled out the one marked 'Henry Allen. "He did tell me… and I read through these notes. So why not tell Barry? He would be pleased to hear that his father's case has been reopened." Astrid handed Joe the file.  
"I'm keeping it a secret because if he knew, and we couldn't solve it. That would devastate him and I don't want to put him through that again."  
Astrid nodded, but before Joe could leave she told him, "I'm heading out to chat to Henry this afternoon. If you like you can come with me, I want to help Barry too. Even if this involves keeping this case a secret from him."


	6. Earth 27 - Episode 3 - Chapter 6

"I have done it!" Cisco declared, startling Caitlin.  
"What have you done?" she asked approaching him, where he was sitting at a table filled with tech, wires and a set of handcuffs. Cisco held the handcuffs up to show Caitlin.  
"I only see handcuffs." Caitlin said in confusion.  
"These handcuffs may just seem like ordinary handcuffs. But they are lined with the meteor rock and a few extra ingredients creating a dampening mechanism. These Cisco grade handcuffs are designed to dampen the powers of all our bad boy super beings when we arrest them." Cisco boasted.  
"How do you know that they actually work?" Caitlin asked him, "I mean you need to actually test them out on someone and with Barry not here, we are a little short of super beings right now."

"When he gets here, I will try them out. But just imagine, these babies will be used in every police station imaginable. It beats doing what the arrow does. We can actually arrest them peacefully. No more repeats of what happened this morning." He was referring to the news report that they had seen earlier, relating to Clyde Marden. Cisco put the handcuffs down to call Barry. He was determined to try out his new invention.

Caitlin walked back to her medical bay. She was feeling 'funny' again. She picked up her glass beaker to pack it away in to the cupboard. Her cold hand caused the glass to turn to ice. It shattered in her grasp causing fractures to fall to the ground. Caitlin gasped and turned to ensure that Cisco hadn't seen what had happened. Fortunately, he hadn't. He was busy working on his new invention.  
She sighed a sense of relief that he hadn't seen. She rubbed her hands together so they warmed up again.

Barry appeared out of nowhere next to Cisco. "You rang?" he asked.  
"I did, my man! I need you to put these on." Cisco said holding out the cuffs.  
"Handcuffs?" Barry asked, "I don't know what you are into… but really, I'm not interested…"  
"What? No! They are power dampening cuffs that could change how we deal with the criminal super beings! I need you to test them for me. I need to see if your powers work when you wear them. They are meant to prevent your powers from working." He explained.  
Barry let him put the handcuffs over his wrists and fasten them, "Now what?" Barry asked.  
"Try and run." Cisco told him, "but we're in close quarters so try not to break anything! These computers and equipment are expensive. Astrid will kill us."

Barry attempted to run, only the handcuffs must have worked as he only ran at the pace of a regular being. "Boo Yeah!" Cisco cried out, "These babies are going to make us famous!"  
"Great, now can you get them off of me, Cisco?" Barry asked, holding out his hands.  
"Uh oh!" Cisco replied scanning his table. "I can't find the key. Hold on a minute." He started a rummaging around, searching for the key. "You lost it?" Barry asked in disbelief. He started looking for it too. Caitlin came over and joined in the search.

It was 8:00 at night as Astrid and detective Joe West climbed back in the car after leaving Iron Heights Prison. "The story is still the same, Joe. I think we need to look elsewhere for the answer." Astrid told him.  
"I think you're right. I mean I have gone through every shred of evidence and nothing stands out. It's like the person or thing knew exactly what they were doing and how to cover up their tracks. And my theory is that they had the exact same abilities as Barry."

Astrid looked down at the dashboard in the car. She was trying to piece the clues together. "I thought the same thing. Whoever killed Barry's mother would have had to have been a super-being of some sort. But she was killed in 1998. I don't think they even existed back then. They have only come about since the meteor shower. Were there any cases back then that stood out like this?" she wondered if Luthor Corp might hold the answer, but from what she had heard from her father, Luthor corp wasn't around back then.

Joe thought back to the time that Nora was killed. Nothing stood out for him. He shook his head. "No, but I can look through some of the archives back at the station to see if anything comes up. Am I driving you, home or back to Sutherland Labs?"  
"Sutherland Labs. I might be able to pull up a little research from there, provided the others have gone home." She told him.

Astrid reached level 97 in Sutherland Labs at 8:45. The lights were off and the staff, throughout the entire building, had gone home for the night, despite a few security guards. She knew that Cisco's computer had remote access to numerous databases which no other computer could reach.

She switched it on and was frustrated that it was password protected. She typed in a couple of passwords, one of them being the word 'password' itself. No he was too smart for that. She picked up her phone. She was going to call Felicity, back in Sterling City for help.  
"What are you doing?" a voice from behind made her jump.  
"Cisco, I er…umm. I can explain."  
He was amused, he shook his head at her and typed in the password for her, so quickly that she didn't see. He didn't ask for an explanation, but she needed to tell him as she knew that she would need his help. "If I tell you something, can you please promise not to tell anyone, especially Barry?" she asked him, "please?"  
"That depends what it is. I might owe him after I handcuffed him this afternoon and left him in the cuffs for an hour until I found the key." He joked.  
"Cisco, this is serious. If we tell him and things don't work out, it could really disappoint him!"  
"Fine. I promise that I won't tell him, you can trust me. Just tell me what is going on and I will help you." He told her.  
"Joe West and I have reopened the case on Henry Allen. We want to get him out of jail, but all of the evidence we have doesn't prove our assumptions. I need to know if there were any cases of these super-beings back when Nora Allen died. Any unexplained cases or anything out of the ordinary."

Cisco retrieved another chair from the other side of the room so there were seats for the both of them. "You're going to have to put on some coffee, Astrid. This will be a long night."


	7. Earth 27 - Episode 3 - Chapter 7

"Astrid, wake up! I think I found something!" Cisco's voice broke into her brief moment of rest, only while it had felt like a brief rest, it had actually been longer. She opened her eyes and lifted her head up from the desk.

"Wow, how long was I out for? She asked him, groggily.  
"Only an hour. You were talking in your sleep. What's a truth lasso?"  
"Just something from an old comic book. You said that you found something?"  
"You wanted something out of the ordinary, I found two separate cases that stood out. One case where a psychiatric patient from the 70's claimed that they saw a space ship… Though instead of little green men, they saw people with technology from… get this our time."  
"That sounds like almost every psychiatric patient that I have ever met. You said there was another?"  
"This one, I'm glad you're sitting down for it, as it is less about the case and more about Barry's family. I found Nora Allen's hospital report at the time of Barry's birth. Did you know that Barry was a fraternal twin? But apparently the twin passed away, did he ever mention that to you?"

"No. Maybe he doesn't know about it." Astrid said unassumingly.  
"The part that stood out for me was that the doctor who delivered him was fired, and lost his license when… get this… he was caught drinking on the job. He was trying to deal with some big mistake that he had made. He admitted to accidently causing the death of a newborn baby, and lying about the death of another. He apparently gave that child away. Though there was no proof about it as he refused to give any names up. I have the article right here." Cisco showed Astrid the documents. She didn't know what to say.

"Can you print those pages out for me, so I can give them to Joe?" Astrid asked him.  
"Print what?" Caitlin's voice startled them, making them both jump. "What are the two of you doing here this early? It's only 6.30 in the morning!"  
Cisco collected the printed pages, while Astrid minimized the browsers, that were open on the computer screen. Caitlin looked at them with suspicion. "It's fine, whatever the two of you are working on, I either don't want to know, or you will end up roping me into it sooner or later, whether I want to be involved or not."

Cisco handed Astrid the printed pages, which she folded in half and held onto tightly. "You're right Caitlin. This is something you do not want the burden of being involved in." Astrid told her friend. "I have to get to CCPD. But before I do that, I need to get in contact with my father's old driver, considering my car was involved in an accident yesterday." She began looking through her phone's contact list.

"I'm sorry, what happened to your car yesterday?' Caitlin asked. This was news to both her and Cisco's ears. "Clyde caused a lovely little storm and my beautiful corvette turned into the Delorean as it flew through the air with both Barry and I inside." Astrid told them.

"Wow! That would have been amazing to see." Cisco told her wistfully, "Bad! But still… amazing to see." Astrid shook her head and called her father's old driver.

Astrid entered CCPD early, and headed straight for Joe's office. Eddie Thawn stopped her on the way. "Wow, Astrid, you're here early. Are you wearing the same clothes that you wore yesterday?" he asked her. "How would you even know that?" she answered.

"I'm a detective, remember? I get paid to pay attention to details. If you're off to see Joe, he went out to get coffee ten minutes ago, but he should be back soon. He has been pouring over a bunch of files all night. Captain Singh appointed me as his partner a week back and he still doesn't tell me anything." Eddie continued.

"He probably doesn't trust you yet. Give him time… but then again, you are dating his daughter, that might have some impact on the relationship you share with him." Astrid replied. Eddie's face stared towards the floor. "He doesn't yet know, Astrid." He told her, "Please don't tell him."

"It's not my job to reveal someone's secrets. I'm a psychologist, remember?" Astrid replied, imitating his earlier tone. She tried to like Eddie, but despite she knew that there was nothing to be afraid of, she still did not trust him. There was just something about the simple detective that she just could not put her finger on.

Astrid turned to see Joe enter the room, carrying a cup of coffee from Jitters. Clutching the documents in her hand, she made her way towards him, dismissing Eddie as she left. "Joe, can we talk? I found something that I need to discuss with you."  
Joe led Astrid to his office and closed the door behind them. Astrid handed him the pages of research that Cisco had printed off and waited while he scanned over them.

"What is this, Astrid?" he asked her, puzzled.  
"I know it doesn't have anything to do with our case, but I was never aware that Barry had a twin brother. This is a copy of Nora's hospital record and it says that she delivered one live baby and one stillborn. The doctor who delivered the babies was soon after disqualified for malpractice. He was drinking on the job and rambling about some case that he had been involved in concerning twin babies being separated at birth, though he never gave any names. That article is the second document"

Joe reread over the pages again. "Are you saying that you believe that Barry's twin is not actually dead, but out there somewhere? That is very unlikely. Though, I never knew that Barry had a twin at all, even if it did die at birth. It is a very unlikely suspicion but I'll speak to Henry. and Astrid? Please not a word of this to Barry."

"You have my word, however… Cisco knows what we are doing, in fact he was the one who found this information." Astrid confessed.  
Joe nodded and opened the door for her as she left. He then closed it behind her again and sat his desk to read the information that she had given him.


	8. Earth 27 - Episode 3 - Chapter 8

Barry looked at his watch. It was 8.15am and he was in his red suit, earpiece in place and listening to Cisco give him coordinates of petty crimes in Central City, while he arrested the criminals in a flash.  
"Right, Barry there is a bank robbery on the corner of West avenue and 23rd Street."  
"This will have to be the last one, Cisco. I was supposed to be at work fifteen minutes ago."  
"Oh, come on. You're the fastest man alive and you still can't even make it to work on time. Am I the only one who sees the irony in that?" Cisco joked, as he tried to hold back a yawn. Caitlin had just brought him a fresh cup of coffee from Jitters and he was waiting for it to cool down.

"No, I see the irony too." Barry said as he made it to Sutherland Labs and changed out of his suit and into his clothes, so quickly that no one saw. "maybe I should just get Captain Singh a coffee as a peace offering before he tears me to pieces." He picked up the Jitters coffee from beside Cisco, "Sorry man, I owe you one." Before Cisco could protest, Barry had disappeared with Cisco's coffee in hand.

Barry reported to the CCPD entrance where Joe, Eddie, Captain Singh and a few other officers were gathered. "You're late Barry," Captain Singh growled at him.  
"I got you a coffee, Captain Singh." Barry replied, feeling a little light headed, he handed the coffee to Captain Singh and sat down on a nearby chair. Joe looked at him with a look of concern on his face.  
Captain Singh turned to the officers, addressing them regarding a string of crimes that were being solved by something known as 'The streak'.

"Whoever this streak is we need to capture him, as he can only be bad news." Captain Singh told his men. He was interrupted by an officer, who relayed a phone call, in relation to a bank truck that was currently being hijacked. "All right! Let's go get them!" Captain Singh demanded.

Joe and Barry, who was still feeling very light headed, subtly stayed behind. Joe ran to get Astrid's attention, leaving Barry on the chair. "Astrid, I know you're not a doctor. But can we take Barry to Sutherland Labs? Something is wrong with him."  
Astrid ran after to Joe, to find that Barry had collapsed on the floor, unconscious. "We're going to need to drive him right away!" Astrid demanded. They both pulled Barry out into the carpark and into Joe's police car.

"Is everything ok?" Eddie asked, concerned for Barry's welfare. Joe was unaware that Eddie had stayed behind. "I'm sorry Eddie," Joe told him, "It's a personal matter. I need you to cover for me!" Joe drove Astrid and Barry immediately to Sutherland Labs, hoping to make it in time.

"Is he ok?" Joe asked Caitlin, as she went over Barry's vitals. Barry was now awake, very alert and had just devoured at least eight Big Belly Burgers and counting. "Barry is fine." Caitlin said, "He was just burning so many calories that his body couldn't keep up. This is a big reason for him to eat as much as he needs to, to replace the calories that he is burning off." Joe and Barry were both relieved.  
"Astrid, while I have you here, can I talk to you about a very important matter?" Cisco said, sounding very concerned about something. He pulled her away so they couldn't be overheard.

He bit his lip and flicked his hair behind his ear nervously, as he tried to think of the right way to break the bad news.  
"Cisco, what is this about? What have you done?" Astrid asked her friend.  
"I might have built something, that I shouldn't have built, and it might have gotten… into the wrong hands." He told her, in all seriousness.

"How bad is this… thing… that you built? Cisco?" she asked him, looking up to ensure that they were not being over heard.  
"Bad-bad! Picture a weapon that blasts a pure ice cold stream at such a high pressure that…"  
"What? You built a weapon? We don't build weapons here! We don't keep them here! Why would you do that?" Astrid raised her voice at him, which he had been expecting her to do.  
"It had to do with me watching The Ghostbusters and thinking that I could build that… but that really isn't the point… The point is that someone else knew that I built it and that last night, while we were here, someone broke in and stole it."

"How the hell are we going to explain this one? When everybody finds out about this, Sutherland Labs will have to pay for this… Oh my god! I could strangle you right now!"  
"But you won't because we are best friends and there is… a police officer standing right over there…" Cisco said looking towards Joe. Astrid rolled her eyes and grumbled.

"Are the two of you ok?" Joe asked them.  
"They get like this… it's part of their dynamic." Caitlin explained.  
"Joe, we need your help." Astrid told him.  
"You're asking the law enforcer?" Cisco whispered to her through gritted teeth, "he could lock us away."  
"Do you have a better idea on how to find it?" she asked him with the same tone.

"What's the problem?" Joe asked, ignoring their banter.  
"Just say, that something may have been built that probably shouldn't have been built, and it got into the wrong hands." Astrid said, "we need your help to get it back."

"What is this thing, exactly?" Joe asked.  
"It's a cold gun," Cisco explained, "and it is very dangerous."  
Joe sighed out of frustration. "I will try and get it back, and when we do… you need to make sure that it gets destroyed." He said pointing at Cisco. Cisco nodded, he knew that he had no other choice.

"Barry, Astrid. We need to get back to CCPD while we still have jobs left." Joe told them.  
As Astrid was about to leave she turned to Cisco, "We will get this thing back. But please, no more weapon building. I can see myself having to deliver another press conference for this, if it becomes public knowledge." With that she turned and left.

"You got the boss mad." Caitlin told him when Astrid was no longer in ear shot. "I should have done what I usually do and stuck a tracker into it." Cisco replied, bringing both his hands to the back of his head "She is going to fire me if this all goes wrong. I will be known as the one who brought down Sutherland Labs by illegally building grade A weaponry."

"Relax, she won't fire you. She likes you too much, you just don't see it." Caitlin told him. She stared intently, as her hands started to grow cold again. She closed her fists and tried to prevent the icicles from forming, praying that it wasn't happening. Not again. But she knew that it was and that she couldn't stop it. She needed to do something about it. But not while Cisco was here. "You know what that weapon is capable of. Maybe you should go with them and help them find it."

He was now sitting at his computer. "You might be on to something. I'll call Astrid now. Hopefully they haven't reached the parking lot yet."


	9. Earth 27 - Episdode 3 - Chapter 9

"Joe! Your job is on the line, so the next time you go off on a personal matter, I hope it is for an actual emergency!" Captain Singh blasted Joe, when the group had returned to the CCPD, with Cisco in tow, "we lost the perps responsible for holding up the trucks. One of the men had some form of ice weapon and killed two of our guys. They got away with $70,000 and I am holding you resp… Who is this guy?" Singh asked referring to Cisco.

"He is an expert when it comes to this sort of weaponry," Joe cut in, "we have him here for a consult."  
"Really? You look like a kid. We don't need a consult! We need a solution! We already know what that weapon can do, but how do we protect my men?" Singh had directed his anger towards Cisco at this point.

"Maybe shields?" Cisco suggested as a nervous joke.  
"Shields? Are you mocking me?" Singh asked.  
"No, captain Singh." Astrid chimed in, thinking on the spot. "Cisco is one of Sutherland Labs best mechanical engineers. His team are working on shields that will be impenetrable to this cold gun." She looked at Cisco hoping that he would get the hint to play along.

"Yes, shields… They are… my team are currently working on them, as we speak." Cisco clarified, poorly. Fortunately, Singh had bought it. "Good, I want these shields done by the end of the day!" Captain Singh left the group standing in the middle of CCPD.

"You have a plan, I take it." Barry questioned her.  
"I do. We need to find these guys and we are going to stop them. But to do so we need equipment." She told them, "Cisco, you built this thing, so in theory, you should know what we need for protective gear.  
"We can't lose anyone else! You and I will go back to Sutherland Labs and round up a team to start building. We are going to need a lot of shields." Astrid and Cisco left CCPD, making their way back to Sutherland Labs as quickly as they had arrived. Joe and Barry joined the other officers to determine where the perps might strike next.

Roughly two hours later, "There is currently a hostage situation at West City bank!" A police officer called out, alerting Joe and Barry.  
"I'm going to …" Barry started.  
"You're sure you're ok to…"  
"I'm fine Joe…" Barry interrupted as he left Joe to vouch for him.

Barry had made it to the bank and had attempted to open one of the side doors. It wouldn't budge. The temperature of the door confirmed that it had been sealed shut by the cold gun. He circled the building trying to find another entrance, one that would open, though none would.

Barry thought back to when he had been in his office and his hand began to vibrate really fast. He wondered if he could use that skill to open the door. He focused on his hands and imagined them doing the exact same trick. It worked, his hands were phasing, just as a guitar string would do.

He brought his hands up to the door and within no time, the door came loose so he was able to open it.  
As he stepped inside he ran towards the voices, there was a room full of hostages, and two men helping themselves to the safe. One of them had a large weapon in hand. Barry was relieved that he hadn't yet been seen. He began taking out the hostages one by one, as fast as he could.

The man with the cold gun noticed the Flash coming and shot at the streak as it went past him. It hit Barry's leg and made him tumble. "I knew that that I could make the streak freeze." He said, with a laugh. Outside, sirens began sounding and by the sounds of it there were quite a few of them. Some officers ran through the door which Barry had used to enter the bank. The man with the cold gun shot them down too. Though they were still alive.

"Snart. Let's get what we have and blow this place sky high." A man with a gruff voice called out.  
Barry tried to phase his leg, the same way as he had done with his hands, but he wasn't having any luck in doing so. He was frozen stiff to the ground. The man, now known as Snart, made his way back to his crime partner and whispered something that Barry couldn't quite determine. Barry clicked the button on his earpiece to open the connection to Sutherland Labs.

Astrid had left Cisco with a team of mechanical engineers as she went up to speak with Caitlin. She had felt an uncomfortable feeling regarding her friend Caitlin, that something was not quite right, since she had gotten back to Sutherland Labs and she needed to know what the issue was.

As she got to the 97th floor she probed for Caitlin's thoughts. Caitlin was heavily entranced in her work, analyzing a blood sample. Though there was something about the blood sample that stood out.  
"Caitlin," Astrid called out to her friend, "who's blood sample is that?"

"It's Barry's." Caitlin lied on the spot. But this was the lie that Astrid would not let slide. Not this time.  
"Caitlin, You're lying. What is going on with you?" Astrid asked. Caitlin didn't know what to say, a look of fear came over her.

Astrid read Caitlin's thoughts and had to approach her friend cautiously. "Whatever it is, Caitlin. We will get through it. You can  
trust me."

"I know that I can trust you, Astrid. But right now, I need to deal with this by myself first. Please, just let me sort this out first and  
then I will come to you when I am ready." Caitlin pleaded.  
Astrid was not going to argue with her friend when she was doing the exact same thing with her mind abilities. "Ok, Caitlin. You know where to find me when you need me."

"Thank you." Caitlin replied.  
"That's an odd sounding tone." Astrid said referring to the phone on Cisco's desk, that had begun ringing. She answered it and said 'hello.' There was no answer, but she listened. She could hear distant voices.  
Caitlin raced toward the computer next to her and clicked on a browser. "It's Cisco's new emergency network," she claimed, "Barry is in trouble."  
"Oh Great!" Astrid said with sarcasm, as she saw his tracker signal on the computer "he went to the bank. There is a hostage situation and he went unprotected. We need to call Cisco to get up here quick, we have no time to build those shields, we need to think of something fast."

five to ten minutes later, Cisco had emerged from the 22nd floor. "You called, I came, what is going on?" Cisco said confidently, as he made his way towards Caitlin and Astrid. Astrid retrieved an ear piece from Caitlin and placed it comfortably in her ear.  
"I have called Joe. I need to get to the bank. By the sounds of it Barry is in trouble and Snart has him. I need to go and help him." She told them.

"Astrid, you're a criminal psychologist. You're not a cop, what are you going to do?" Cisco questioned her, with concern.  
"I'll figure it out when it comes to it. I can't leave Barry there by himself. Caitlin, I need you the two of you to stay here at all costs!" She told them racing out of the room.  
"She can't do that! We can't just let her risk her life." Cisco told Caitlin.  
"We have to, Cisco. Something tells me that she knows exactly what she is doing." Caitlin assured him, as they watched Astrid's tracker signal on the computer.


	10. Earth 27 - Episode 3 - Chapter 10

Astrid walked amidst the crowd of officers, media crew and bystanders outside the bank, careful not to draw attention. Captain Singh was hesitating to allow any more of his men enter the bank in fear that they too might get shot by the cold gun.

"Cisco," Astrid spoke quietly, "How are those guys doing with their shields? If any are ready at all can you send them down? Also can you connect me to Barry and find out where I can enter without anyone noticing?"

"Gotcha!" Cisco's voice carried through Astrid's earpiece, "Barry, Astrid is right outside the bank, your linked in to her. Astrid you might need to use the building next door and jump over to the roof somehow. The bank is absolutely surrounded. Barry how is your leg? Can you move it yet? What's the situation?"  
Barry groaned through his end, "It's still not moving! These guys are still going through the safes. There are a few dead officers in here." He was speaking quietly, but Astrid could tell that he was in a lot of pain.

She spotted Joe amidst the crowd, collaborating with other officers. He looked up at her and hurried her way. "Astrid, Barry is in there." His voice was full of concern.  
"I know, Joe. I am going in."  
"What are you talking about?" Joe was baffled, "You can't just go in there!"  
Cisco's voice broke back in through Astrid's ear piece. "Tell Joe we are sending a few suits up for the officers. They will be up in roughly ten minutes and will provide them with ample protection against the cold blasts. There is enough time to give you backup, Astrid." She nodded.

"Joe, tell Singh that Sutherland Labs will be sending up suits shortly. I need you to cover for me. I am going to help Barry and get him out of there before backup arrives. I have a plan." Astrid told the detective, and with that, she darted off to the alley behind the bank and climbed on to the roof of the building next door.

"Hey, what are you doing up here?" a voice startled her, it was the window cleaner taking his lunch break. 'Oh crap!' she thought to herself, she needed to improvise. She pulled a thought from his mind.  
"You're boss, Ronald wants to see you immediately." She told him.  
"What? why?" the window cleaner asked her.  
She shrugged, "I'm not sure. He just asked me to come get you." The man hesitated for a moment, but then left regardless, leaving his supplies on the rooftop.

Astrid noticed the rope and the long plank of wood and smiled. "Perfect!" she said to herself.  
She picked up the plank of wood and tiptoed towards the edge of the roof, closest to the bank. It reached far enough. She checked to make sure that it was stable, it was.

Astrid glanced at the ground below and felt nervous. "Barry, how are you going?" she asked through her earpiece.  
"The guy has Cisco's gun and he is holding... hang on! Hey! Leave her alone!" Barry's voice broke off. It was now or never, she took a step onto the plank of wood and spoke to Cisco.  
"It's a great time to remember that I hate heights!" she said as she took another step.  
"I was wondering when that would come up! For the bravest girl I know, you really do doubt yourself. You can do this, so just get over there and do it!" Cisco replied.

"Ha, thanks for the support!" she said sarcastically, she took two more steps and looked at the other side of the plank. She had roughly seven steps left. "Try counting the steps," Cisco told her, "one by one, Astrid. You can do this. Just count them down… Oh, and Astrid. Don't look down." she could hear him laugh.

She couldn't help herself. She looked down she took a nervous breath in and then focused on the steps. "6, 5, 4…" she continued counting the steps down. "Ok, 3,2,1…" she climbed to the roof of the bank. She had made it! "Great! I made it!" she said relieved.  
"See, and you doubted yourself." Cisco told her.  
Astrid didn't respond, she walked towards the side and found a window in the roof. "Hey Barry. Can you see a rooftop window from where you are?"  
"No, I can't. Why is that?" he asked.  
"Never mind. Just make some noise, to cover me." She told him.  
Barry called out to the men to get their attention while Astrid kicked her foot through the glass of the window, the shards fell to the floor.

She crawled the window and felt herself get cut. it was a long jump onto the floor, which hurt. "Ow!" she said on landing.  
"Are you alright?" Cisco's voice was concerned for her.  
"I'm fine, I need you to talk me through with directions, Cis. And fast."  
She picked herself up and ran as fast as she could to her friend's directions as Barry opened his connection from his earpiece.

"I think before my friend and I leave…" one of the burglar's voice spoke over Barry's earpiece, "I would like to say that you have all been very great hostages… and for that, I will give you all a little present. I am going to reveal to you the identity of the red suited hero… but before I do..."

"Barry how is your leg?" Astrid spoke into her connection as she ran down the stairs to the floor that he was on. She still had not yet reached him.  
"No… I can't move." Barry called out.  
"Astrid, you're not far now," Cisco told her.  
"I know…" Astrid ran as fast as she could, to the room that the men, Barry and the hostages were in. She was able to get a reading on Mr Leonard Snart before she had entered the room.

"Hey, Snart. Your sister Lisa, sent me." Astrid said casually on entering the room, trying to play the part of the criminals, that she had worked with over the years.

Snart turned away from Barry and raised his eyebrows, while Astrid continued to read his mind. His crime partner approached her and studied her intently. "Who are you?" he asked her.  
"Mick, I can't believe you do not recognize her. She is the Sutherland heiress. But why, might I ask, would my sister send you? My guess is that you have already read my police report and are trying to bluff me." Snart approached her at this point. She glanced over at Barry, whose leg was slowly becoming free. He still couldn't move it yet, though.

Astrid kept her façade. "Why would I bluff you? I mean, if I hadn't kept my friend, Cisco, distracted how else could you have had the chance to steal that beautiful weapon there?" Astrid had dialed her charm up to the max.

"Give me one reason why I should believe you," Snart told her firmly.  
"Oh, that's right. Lisa told me you would say that…" Astrid tried to probe deeper into Leonard Snart's mind. "So, she said for me to remind you about some story you would tell her back when your father would go on one of his benders… something about…"

"Ok! That's enough…" Snart shot at her, "I trust you. But why would Lisa send you? Why here? And why now?"  
"Because she has plans. She is on her way here. If you ask me, she is a little in over her head…" Astrid continued, she smiled as she saw Barry free his leg from behind them. They had not seen him do so. Within a blink of an eye, Barry had disarmed Snart from his weapon and the team of officers came rushing in apprehending the men and helping the hostages. Astrid jumped, she had not seen any of them enter. But she had distracted the men long enough for the officers to do their job.

Snart continued to study Astrid, as he was being led away in handcuffs, as if he still believed that she was telling the truth. She didn't say a word until they were entirely out of ear shot.

As Astrid looked back, Barry had already left so he would not be seen by the officers.  
"Barry just made it back, Astrid." Cisco told her. She nodded and noticed as Joe walked in looking for his foster son.  
"Barry is safe," she whispered to him. She looked at Singh as he walked in. he was holding the weapon in his hands. "We will be confiscating this thing as soon as possible. Astrid I want you to thank your friend for the protective gear, although we didn't need them. I suppose the man in the red suit was here. Did you see him? You were one of the hostages, I take it?"

"I was. I saw him. But it happened so fast I couldn't see who it was." Astrid lied to Singh. "I need to get back to Sutherland Labs. Joe, would you be able to take me?" Astrid asked him. He nodded and led her out.

As Joe and Astrid returned to the 97th floor on Sutherland Labs, they were greeted out by cheers from Caitlin, Barry and Cisco.  
"Did you get my cold gun back? Cisco asked.  
"Nope, it is in the hands of CCPD now." Astrid told him, "But you need to promise me something, that you will never ever build anything like that again! That thing is dangerous. It actually killed men. But we need to look at building things that can actually stop the bad guys."

"Like these?" he asked her handing her a pair of handcuffs from the table.  
"What do you mean?" she asked him.  
"These handcuffs dampen the powers of the people who were affected by the meteor. We have already tried them out. They work!" Cisco told her.

Joe stepped forward "Do they really work? Are they foolproof?"  
"They work. I can vouch for them." Barry told Joe. "I tried them on and I couldn't use my powers at all."

"I will get these over to Captain Singh, immediately!" Joe told Cisco, "You have just made it into my good books, Cisco!" He left Sutherland labs quickly, with the handcuffs in hand.

"Now, we need to talk about how you knew all that information about Snart." Cisco said pointedly to her, "That wasn't just professional psychologist talk and I am certain we didn't research any of that. How did you…"

"Cisco, she is just good at her job. Leave it at that!" Caitlin told him. She was willing to defend Astrid's secret.  
"No, that isn't it." Cisco said, "I know Astrid, she has been hiding something and it is big."

Caitlin tried to cover for her again, but Astrid wouldn't allow it. She needed to tell them the truth, "I can read minds. I was affected by the meteor shower and now I can read minds. I understand if you guys don't want to trust me after this, I know how I would react… but Barry knows, and now you guys know."

The look on Caitlin's face explained her thoughts. She was in shock.  
Cisco held the same expression for a brief moment, "I can't deal with this…" he told her. He turned and left the floor.


End file.
